Hulegu Khan

Hulegu Khan (1218-1265) was the emperor of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate in Persia, the first Khan. He was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of Ariq Boke, Mongke Khan, and Kublai Khan. During his reign, he sacked the city of Baghdad in 1258 and ravaged the Middle East.

Biography
Hulegu was born in a high-class family, the grandson of Genghis Khan. His mother was a Christian, and he considered all Christians allies of the Mongol Empire. Thus, when he became a general of the Mongol Empire and invaded the Middle East, he would not attack any Christians.

In 1256 he descended on the Seljuk city of Baghdad in an avalanche of destruction. His forces destroyed the Hashshashin stronghold of Alamut in northern Persia and devastated Baghdad in 1258. His forces killed all but the Christians in the city and took all of the coffers of the Abbasid Caliphate. He founded the Ilkhanate on the ruins of the Abbasid Caliphate and took over all of the Middle East, with his capital at Baghdad. He fought on behalf of Christianity in his wars against the Mamelukes, but failed to capture the rest of the Middle East when his brother Mongke Khan died in 1259. He had to return to Mongolia, allowing his forces to be defeated at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, and when he returned, he found that General Kitbuqa was dead and his army decimated by Baibars's Mamelukes. Hulegu died in 1265 and was succeeded by Abaqha Khan.